Confucianism in Literature


Examples of Confucianism Ideas in Chinese Literature--- Relationships between people are a big part of Confucianism. Below is some text from The Analects by Confucius.
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"The Master said, A young man's duty is to behave well to his parents at home and to his elders abroad, to be cautious in giving promises and punctual in keeping them, to have kindly feelings towards everyone, but seek the intimacy of the Good. If, when all that is done, he has any energy to spar, then let him study the polite arts."
How do these words reflect Confucianism?---As it says above, "A young man's duty is to behave well to his parents at home and to his elders abroad" it can be seen that a child's relationship with his/her's parents has a lot of importance. The very last statement solidifies this when it is said, "If, when all that is done, he has any energy to spare, then let him study the polite arts" This statement implies that a young man/women's relationship to their parents and elders is of first priority.

Examples of Confucianism Ideas in Chinese Literature
---As stated before, Confucianism deals a lot with the relationships between people. Below is some text from the poems "I Beg of You, Chung Tzu" and "Thick Grow the Rush Leaves" both from theThe Book of Songs.
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Excerpts from "I Beg of You, Chung Tzu"
Chung Tzu I dearly love; But of what my father and mother sayIndeed I am afraid.

Chung Tzu I dearly love; But of what my brothers sayIndeed I am afraid.

Chung Tzu I dearly love;But of all that people will say Indeed I am afraid.
Excerpts from "Thick Grow the Rush Leaves"
He whom I love Must be somewhere along this stream I went up the river to look for him, But the way was difficult and long.

He whom I love Is at the water's side. Upstream I sought him; But the way was difficult and steep.

He whom I love Is at the water's edge. Upstream I followed him; but the way was hard and long.

How do these words reflect Confucianism? One of the main aspects of Confucianism deals with the relationships between different people. Some of the main ideas of Confucianism deal with the relationships between the parent and the child, the husband and the wife, friends, and siblings. It can be seen in the poem, "I Beg of You, Chung Tzu" that the author of the poem cares about his/her relationship with his brothers, parents, and the people; however, at the same time the author also is wanting to have a relationship with Chung Tzu. Overall, Confucianism is reflected in this poem because this poem deals with the relationships between different people. Similarly, the poem, “Thick Grow the Rush Leaves” deals with the relationship between people.
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